SafeMoon originally launched in March 2021 on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC, now known as BNB Chain) as a meme coin. It started as a BEP-20 token with a unique feature: every transaction incurred a 10% fee, with half (5%) redistributed to holders (called "reflection") and the other half added to the liquidity pool.
This mechanism fueled its early popularity, riding the "To the Moon" slogan, and at one point in 2021, its price surged by an astonishing 19,000%, grabbing a lot of attention.
However, SafeMoon ran into several controversies and issues:
- Fraud Allegations: In November 2023, the U.S. SEC and Department of Justice charged SafeMoon’s founders (John Karony, Kyle Nagy, and Thomas Smith) with fraud and money laundering. They were accused of using investor funds to buy luxury cars and homes.
- Hack Incident: In March 2023, a vulnerability in its smart contract led to a hack that drained $8.9 million worth of tokens.
- Bankruptcy: In December 2023, SafeMoon officially filed for bankruptcy.
Fast forward to 2025, and SafeMoon is attempting a fresh start. It’s currently migrating from BSC to the Solana blockchain. A notice has been issued stating that holders must convert their existing SFM tokens (V1/V2) to the Solana-based SFM by April 10, 2025, with the process supported through the VGX Foundation wallet. Recent updates include:
- Token Burn: As of April 3, 2025, over 6.5 billion SFM tokens have been burned.
- Community-Driven Effort: There’s a new initiative called the SafeMoon Steering Council, a community-led group aiming to steer the project’s future direction.
As of today, April 3, 2025, SafeMoon is trying to shed its negative past and relaunch itself. Let me know if you’d like more details!
